Latest ONSW News
Former JWOC silver medallist Lucy Mackie made a winning return to MTBO at the weekend, taking out the ACT Middle Distance Champs on Saturday.
Lucy has changed her focus to enduro mountain biking in the past 12 months but joined her folks in the national capital briefly and took out W21 by two and half minutes over the 8.9km course at East Kowen Forest.
Newcastle pair Carolyn Matthews (W50) and Rhiannon Prentice (W20) won all 3 events while clubmate Tim Doman - who came from the clouds to represent Australia this year - had a welcome return to form in winning the M21 Long.
The weekend featured the first mass start event in the ACT - in a small area at the Arboretum in East Stromlo on Friday evening with butterfly loops to spread the field. There was plenty of fast fire trails, while the weekend events featured more single track.
It was good to see a couple of local MTB riders and adventure racers taking some races - hopefully we can convert them!
Rumour has it that Garingal's Ian Jessup rode the last 2km on Saturday with a rear puncture to take out the recreational Open 5 class - the bike shaking like a jackhammer across the open paddocks into the finish!
Congratulations to ONSW riders who won the following ACT MTBO titles and other classes at the weekend:
Mass start: W20 Rhiannon Prentice (Newcastle), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC), E bike Tim Hackney (NC).
Middle: W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), W21 Lucy Mackie (Big Foot), M40 Hamish Mackie (BF), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC), Open 5 Ian Jessup (Garingal), E bike Tim Hackney (NC).
Long: W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC), M21 Tim Doman (NC), M12 Jonathan Nolan (Uringa), E bike Greg Bacon (NC).
A big thanks to organisers Marina and Fedor and OACT for a great weekend. Next weekend it's the Australian MTBO champs in Maryborough, Victoria.
Newcastle's next MTBO event is BOSS 2 on Sunday November 10 at Wyee Point.
Congratulations to Australian junior rep Alastair George (Big Foot) who will be our new coach-in-residence this summer.
Alastair will be ONSW’s first homegrown Coach-in-Residence (CIR), which is a role renamed from the successful scholarship scheme.
His duties will be coaching and mapping in schools, assisting with adult training sessions, putting on events, course setting, and assisting in junior training camps.
Alastair has enjoyed his previous experiences as a coach in Sydney schools, and was looking to expand his expertise into mapping schools when ONSW received his application for the role.
He is aware that the previous incumbent, Grace Molloy, used her time in the role to great effect in building a platform for her future success, while also firmly focused on developing orienteering in NSW. His enthusiasm for new challenges in the role shone through.
Alastair has loads of experience from two JWOCs and we are sure our clubs will appreciate what he can add to their programs.
He starts in Orange on Monday assisting Goldseekers and will finish in the role in February when he starts uni. Clubs interested in making use of Alastair's services should contact
Daylight saving is here, the formal bush season has finished, which means... it's time for the annual summer series to start around the state.
That's when we turn our attention to navigating our way through some of the most scenic parks, reserves and foreshores that our clubs have mapped. Many newcomers are amazed at the views on offer and the areas they discover through our summer series.
As an example, a map from a previous event is here. The maps usually cover an area of 2km x 1km. The fastest runners will often cover 9-10km in 45 minutes, while the more social may do 2-4km.
It's up to you how competitive or social you are. Here's what's on offer:
* On Wednesday, Newcastle gets underway at Raymond Terrace. See their info page for full details. You only get two minutes of planning time, so make full use of it. Newcastle even offer a pram-walking category (see pic)!
* At the same time at Putney, Sydneysiders will number around 200 for the second event in the Sydney Summer Series. You get unlimited planning time (see picture, left, for a family hard at work). This serves a wonderful social purpose as much as maximising your score. This summer we are offering a free, short, off-road MINI course for children at most events.
* On Saturday morning the SOS, run by our partner Bold Horizons, opens for Term 4 at Gore Hill Cemetery. These are mostly 'Sprint' maps focusing on small, mainly urban areas.
* On Sunday mornings in Dec-Jan, the Western SSS in the Hills District is on, while the Southern SSS (now known as the River and Bay Series) is already underway.
* Coffs Harbour (Wed) and Grafton (Fri) start up in late October.
* In November, summer series start up in the Central Coast, Orange, Wagga and our new club at Port Macquarie will have events roughly every two months.
Beginners will get coaching at the events. We hope to see you there.
Eleven NSW orienteers have finished the 2019 bush season ranked No.1 in Australia in their age class.
The recent Oceania champs in NSW and Victoria wrapped up the rankings events, which included Easter (WA) and the Australian champs (WA and NSW).
Three of the 11 who finished with a ranking of 100% were relegated to second place on countback based on average winning margins.
Congratulations to:
Erika Enderby (Newcastle, W14), Nikolett Halmai (Garingal, W35), Jean Baldwin (Goldseekers, W75), Maureen Ogilvie (Uringa, W85).
Alton Freeman (Big Foot, M10, pictured), Oliver Freeman (BF, M14), Istvan Kertesz (GO, M35), Stephen Craig (NC, M50), Jock Davis (BF, M50), Greg Barbour (BF, M55), Basil Baldwin (GS, M80).
Read the full OA article and see the top-10 list for each age class here.
